What makes a workplace attractive to employees? Mercer’s research examining the correlation between employee value proposition (EVP) and employee outcomes — such as motivation, satisfaction, advocacy, commitment and intention to stay — found that career development ranked highest on average followed by sense of belonging, wellbeing and meaningful work. While compensation and benefits must be competitive, they rank well behind these other variables.
So it’s no wonder that NatWest Group’s EVP for women prioritizes building skills for career development, supporting wellbeing (with a significant ramp up during COVID-19) and building an inclusive culture. Last year, NatWest also launched its People Pledge after listening to employees wants and needs, which prioritized these areas.
“A holistic approach is essential to attracting and retaining female talent,” noted NatWest Group’s Inclusion Lead Debbie Miller during her presentation to the D&I Working Group last week.
The range of modalities and depth of thinking that went into the EVP is impressive. Its career development piece, for example, includes an innovative partnership with the Financial Services Skills Commission to build an industry-wide job framework for skills and retraining and a “LOV” (Living Our Value) award for everyday recognition. It also includes more mundane but equally important practices like reducing paperwork involved in performance management so that colleagues can devote more time to their development.
NatWest’s focus on well-being includes mental and physical health, as well as family support (particularly working moms) during the pandemic. It even includes virtual yoga and story time events for employees’ children.
Creating an environment where everyone, whatever their gender, can achieve their potential is the aim of NatWest Group’s gender employee-led network, which has 13,000 members, including 3,000 male allies. Co-Chair Nikki Gladwell shared how the network, Natwest’s oldest and largest employee network, is the foundation for building an environment where women can thrive.
Next month, the Working Group will dive into Fair and Inclusive Recruitment Practices — an essential and complex aspect of attracting and retaining women. Please email Tessa.Ruben@financialallianceforwomen.org if you’d like to join us.
Members can watch Debbie’s and Nikki’s presentations here.
